Chairman John Radford promises new boss John Dempster his full financial backing for new glory bid

Mansfield Town chairman John Radford has promised new manager John Dempster his full financial backing in getting the club to the next level.

Dempster has already got the bulk of last season’s squad under contract for another year and will bring in three to five new faces to bolster that.

Dempster met with chairman Radford and said: “It was a really good meeting and he has promised me his full support.

“He is aware that the current squad is strong and he will support me in the new signings.

“I will highlight certain players to the chairman and I am sure he’ll back me.

“I’d like to bring in three to five players in key areas. If I can, then this squad, which is already strong, will become even stronger.”

The Stags were last year widely reported to have had a ‘top three’ budget and that amount spent is unlikely to fall this season, though Dempster said it was impossible to know how that would compare with rivals at this stage.

“Even if you look at our current squad that are under contract, in terms of budget we’re going to have a competitive one,” he said.

“What other clubs do or spend is out of my control.

“I have a good idea that the clubs that have come to League Two will have a go, and I know for a fact that the two clubs that have come up from the Conference will have a decent budget as well.

“But we will be right up there in terms of budgets and being competitive.”

He added: “Our target is progression. When you have an owner and CEO like ours they want the club to progress like it has.

“The long term vision for the club has always been to get it to the next level and that hasn’t changed.”